Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Director Thomas Shara Sells 40,266 Shares

Provident Financial Services, Inc (NYSE:PFS) Director Thomas Shara sold 40,266 shares of Provident Financial Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.06, for a total value of $928,533.96. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 382,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,829,927.66. The trade was a 9.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Thomas Shara also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 31st, Thomas Shara sold 15,900 shares of Provident Financial Services stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.30, for a total transaction of $370,470.00.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $22.95. 814,764 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 966,686. The company has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.69. Provident Financial Services, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $17.69 and a fifty-two week high of $25.49.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The firm had revenue of $234.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PFS. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Provident Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Provident Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson set a $26.00 price target on Provident Financial Services in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stephens initiated coverage on Provident Financial Services in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Provident Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.79.

Institutional Trading of Provident Financial Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Provident Financial Services by 2,218.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,310,664 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $78,264,000 after purchasing an additional 3,167,850 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Provident Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $355,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $55,000. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 76.8% during the 2nd quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 39,894 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 17,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC bought a new position in Provident Financial Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $443,000. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc is the bank holding company for Provident Bank, a regional commercial bank headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company operates a network of full-service branches across New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area and eastern Pennsylvania, offering a range of personal and business banking solutions.

Its core products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate financing and small-business lending.